February 5, 2010
Team leader, Mike Hamill, just called in from Casa Piedre. The crew is now 2 days into their 3 day trek to base camp. Casa Piedre is around 10,000’. This is where the team gets their first really good view of the mountain. The word is – so far, so good. It’s been clear and sunny but a tad on the breezy side. Probably a good thing they’re not high on the mountain now. People above are probably getting a bit blasted. But breezy works just fine during the approach. They’ll cross the Vacas River first thing in the morning and then head up the Relinchos River to base camp. That’s when we should hear next from Mike. These early days are critical to a good acclimatization process. And Mike reports that everyone is doing well. That’s about all we can ask for now.
Phil Ershler